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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Bruce Hornsby

A brilliant pianist, singer and song writer of the jam band genre, Bruce was with the Grateful Dead from 1988 till 1995 when Jerry Garcia died. He has also recorded and released albums on his own since the late '80s with a variety of musicians producing music from the world of rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass and more. Here are a bunch of albums that I dig a lot.

The Way It is (1986)

Personnel:

Buce Hornsby: lead vocals, piano, accordion, synthesizer & hamered dulcimer
David Mansfield: guitar, mandolin & violin
George Marinelli: guitars & vocals
Joe Puerta: bass & vocals
John Molo: drums & percussion.

Tracks:
1. On The Western Skyline (4:43)
2. Every Little Kiss (5:48)
3. Mandolin Rain (5:19)
4. The Long Race (4:23)
5. The Way It Is (4:57)
6. Down The Road Tonight (4:26)
7. The Wild Frontier (4:04)
8. The River Runs Low (4:27)
9. The Red Plains (5:00)

Get it from here.

Scenes From The Southside (1988)

Tracklisting:

1. Look Out Any Window (5:28)

2. The Valley Road (4:43)

3. I Will Walk With You (4:36)

4. The Road Not Taken (7:07)

5. The Show Goes On (7:30)

6. The Old Playground (4:26)

7. Defenders of the Flag (4:28)

8. Jacob's Ladder (4:37)

9. Till the Dreaming's Done (5:12)

Total Time: 48:07

Line-Up:

- Bruce Hornsby / vocals, piano, synthesizer, accordion

- Peter Harris / guitar, mandolin

- George Marinelli / guitar, mandolin

- Joe Puerta / bass, vocals

- John Molo / drums

- Huey Lewis / harmonica

- Jeff Gerson / percussion.

Get it from here or here.

A Night On The Town (1990)

1. A Night On The Town (4:26)

2. Carry The Water (5:09)

3. Fire On The Cross (4:38)

4. Barren Ground (5:29)

5. Across The River (5:10)

6. Stranded On Easy Street (3:54)

7. Stander On The Mountain (6:10)

8. Lost Soul (5:45)

9. Another Day (4:24)

10. Special Night (4:11)

11. These Arms Of Mine (5:53)

Total Time: 55:09

Get it from here.

Harbor Lights (1993)

Tracklisting:

1. Harbor Lights (7:11)

2. Talk of The Town (5:10)

3. Long Tall Cool One (4:59)

4. China Doll (5:17)

5. Fields of Gray (4:51)

6. Rainbow's Cadillac (4:38)

7. Passing Through (5:59)

8. The Tide Will Rise (3:55)

9. What a Time (4:04)

10. Pastures of Plenty (6:30)

Total Time: 52:34

Line-Up:

- Bruce Hornsby / Organ, Piano, Accordion, Vocals

- Branford Marsalis / Horn, Saxophone, Sax (Soprano)

- Phil Collins / Bongos, Vocals (Background), Vocals, Tambourine

- Jerry Garcia / Guitar

- Pat Metheny / Guitar, Sitar

- Jeff Lorber / Drums, Programming, Loops

- Bonnie Raitt / Vocals, Vocals (Background)

- Larry Williams / Vocals (Background)

- Omar Hakim / Percussion, Drums

- Jean McClain / Vocals (Background)

- John McLaughlin Williams / Violin

- John Molo / Drums

- Roy Muth / Horn, Vocals (Background)

- Laura Roelofs Park / Violin, Balloon

- Dr. Alex Paterson / French Horn

- Wayne Pooley / Guitar, Mixing, Engineer

- Laura Satterfield / Vocals (Background)

- Tim Streagle / Vocals (Background)

- Pauline Wilson / Vocals (Background)

- Waddy Wachtel / Guitar

- George Harple / French Horn

- Philip Koslow / French Horn

- Tim Struggle / Horn

- Adam Lesnick / French Horn

- Alan B. Paterson / French Horn

- Will Ross / Guitar (Rhythm)

- John D'earth / Horn

- Glenn Wilson / Horn

- Jimmy Haslip / Bass

- Beverly K. Baker / Viola

- Tony Berg / Guitar

- John Bigham / Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm)

- William Conita / Cello

- Lamont Coward / Percussion

- Laura Cramer-Dunville / Vocals (Background)

- George A. Gailes III / Horn, Vocals (Background)

- Debra Henry / Vocals (Background)

- Phillip Ingram / Vocals (Background)

Get it from here.

Hot House (1995)

Lineup:

Bruce Hornsby: vocals, accordion & piano

Jerry Garcia & Pat Metheny: guitar

Béla Fleck: banjo

Bobby Read: alto & tenor saxophones

Glenn Wilson: baritone saxophone

John D'earth: trumpet

John Thomas: organ

John Molo: drums

Larry Sears: percussion

Ornette Fogelberg: tambourine

Robert Brookins & John Paris: programming

Dave Hollister, Joe Lynn White, Debra Henry, Levi Little, Louis Price & Chaka Khan: vocals

Track List:

01. Spider Fingers (6:44)

02. White Wheeled Limousine (5:28)

03. Walk In The Sun (4:58)

04. The Changes (5:49)

05. The Tango King (5:48)

06. Big Rumble (4:40)

07. Country Doctor (5:57)

08. The Longest Night (5:22)

09. Hot House Ball (4:41)

10. Swing Street (4:36)

11. Cruise Control (5:03)

Get it from here and here.

Spirit Trail (1998)

Personnel:

Bruce Hornsby: lead vocals, dulcimer, piano, organ & mini-Moog synthesizer
Matthew Scannell: guitar & mandolin
David Bendeth, Adam Larrabee & Wayne Pooley: guitar
David Mansfield & Ashley MacIsaac: violin
Bobby Read: flute, clarinet, saxophone & baritone saxophone
John D'earth: trumpet
Tim Streagle: trombone
John Thomas: organ
John Molo & Matt Chamberlain: drums & percussion
Serban Ghenea: programming
Debra Henry, Joe Lee & Kyle Davis: background vocals.

Track list:

cd1:
01. King Of The Hill (6:19)
02. Resting Place (4:45)
03. Preacher In The Ring Pt. I (5:02)
04. Preacher In The Ring Pt. II (4:48)
05. Song C (2:47)
06. Sad Moon (6:33)
07. Pete & Manny (3:15)
08. Fortunate Son (4:15)
09. Sneaking Up On Boo Radley (5:15)
10. Great Divide (5:01)

cd2:
01. Line In The Dust (4:43)
02. See The Same Way (5:36)
03. Shadow Hand (4:17)
04. Sunlight Moon (4:20)
05. Listen To The Silence (4:34)
06. Funhouse (4:22)
07. Sunflower Cat (Some Dour Cat) (Down With That) (3:55)
08. Song D (2:03)
09. Swan Song (4:56)
10. Variations On "Swan Song" & "Song D" (3:53)

Big Swing Face (2002)

Personnel:

Bruce Hornsby: keyboards & lead vocals
Doug Derryberry: guitar & background Vocals
Steve Kimock: guitar
J. Collier: bass
John Thomas: organ
David Bendeth: organ, bass, drums & guitars
Michael Baker: drums
Bobby Read: clarinet
Joe Lee: background vocals

Tracks:
01. Sticks And Stones (3:20)
02. Cartoons & Candy (3:53)
03. The Chill (4:10)
04. Big Swing Face (5:34)
05. This Too Shall Pass (4:59)
06. Try Anything Once (3:35)
07. Take Out The Trash (4:57)
08. The Good Life (3:47)
09. So Out (3:15)
10. No Home Training (4:25)
11. Place Under The Sun (4:13)

Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Skaggs (2007)

Tracklisting:
1. The Dreaded Spoon (3:02)
2. Gulf Of Mexico Fishing Boat Blues (3:37)
3. Across The Rocky Mountains (6:05)
4. Mandolin Rain (6:10)
5. Stubb (4:39)
6. Come On Out (3:26)
7. A Night On The Town (5:15)
8. Sheep Shell Corn (2:26)
9. Hills Of Mexico (3:50)
10. Crown Of Jewels (6:22)
11. Super Freak (4:04)

Total Time: 48:56

Line-Up:
- Ricky Skaggs / banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, percussion, vocals
- Bruce Hornsby / piano, organ, accordion (on "Stubb"), vocals
- Jerry Douglas / dobro
- Stuart Duncan / fiddle
- Gordon Kennedy / guitar
- Cody Kilby / banjo, guitar
- Andy Leftwich / fiddle, mandolin
- Jim Mills / banjo
- Mark Fain / bass
- Sonny Emory / drums
- Paul Brewster / harmony vocals.

Camp Meeting (2007)

Personnel:

Jack DeJohnette - drums
Christian McBride - bass guitar
Bruce Hornsby - piano

Track List:
01. Questions And Answers 04:53)
02. Charlie, Woody And You / Study #22 (06:00)
03. Solar (07:06)
04. Death And The Flower (05:46)
05. Camp Meeting (05:44)
06. Giant Steps (06:04)
07. Celia (07:54)
08. We'll Be Together Again 05:39)
09. Stacked Mary Possum (04:36)
10. Straight, No Chaser (03:00)
11. Un Poco Loco / Chant Song (07:56)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Allan Taylor

Here is England's one of the most respected singer and song writer of the Folk genre. He is in the music business for over 4 decades, being initially helped by the members of the Fairport Convention to launch his career. To know more about him, read about him here and here.

Here are 2 of his albums that I like best.

Color To The Moon

Get it here.

Hotels And Dreamers

Get it from here or here.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Rosanne Cash

The daughter of country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash has has made it to the music world on her own talent. She has been creating music in the Country genre for the last 25 years and have won the Grammy once in 1985. Following are some of the albums that I think are her best.

For more details about her life and career visit this link.

King's Record Shop

Get it here.

Interiors

Get it here.

The Wheel

Get it here.

Rules Of Travel

Get it here.

Black Cadillac

This album was released shortly after her father's death and has some very deep and soul touching lyrics. Highly recommended. Get it here.

The List

Get it here.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Michele Petrucciani

This outstanding pianist had a very short troubled life but we are lucky that he left behind some great music for our ears which are going to last forever. He has played in trio and quartet formats but his solo efforts are the ones which are truly mind blowing.

You can read about him here and here.

Here are a few of his albums that I like the most. The first one is the one which he recorded at the age of 19.

Michel Petrucciani was a few weeks shy of his 19th birthday when he recorded this solo CD, which was not widely available until it was distributed by Rhino nearly a decade later. The pianist's program is an ambitious one, starting with a dark, richly-textured interpretation of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" (incorrectly attributed to John Coltrane, although he did help to make the piece famous with his recording of it). His dramatic take of "'Round Midnight" has an especially haunting quality to it. Wes Montgomery's "Bumpin' on the Sunset" is also in good hands, with Petrucciani delivering a masterful performance.

Michel Petrucciani - Date With Time (1981)